The Mako Dispute
by Eva Yesterday
Summary: When Tali tries to take over Garrus's 'job', the Turian gets angry. And when the only eyewitness is Ashley, there's no way Commander Shepard won't find out.


"I told you, I can handle this!"

Garrus Vakarian glared daggers at the Quarian tech in front of him. Tali, safe with the fact that Garrus wouldn't be able to see, smirked at the Turian. "Trust me. The Mako is better off in my hands." she said. Garrus shook his head and walked away, leaving Tali to her own devices. The two weren't alone in the garage, either; Ashley Williams was quietly, as always, cleaning the few weapons that were left unattended. Wrex had a strange gift of finding the guns that nobody had put in their lockers, and together with Ashley, the two were usually able to find out who they belonged to. But now neither of them were doing their usual trade. They were watching the petty squabble between big, tough Garrus and small, opinionated Tali.

Garrus walked back and forth in front of the elevator, his eyes glued to Tali, who was quietly(and, in Garrus's opinion, smugly) on the Mako. He was stuck between taking the elevator up to the Command Deck to talk to Shepard, but he knew that she would be busy with the map, and Navigator Pressly. With a heavy sigh, Garrus approached Tali once again. "Shouldn't you be helping Adams?" he asked. The Quarian looked up at him, her eyes shining through her helmet in the light. "The engine can wait for now. Shepard really worked the Mako hard when we landed on Rayingri." she said, her voice clipped in the same 'innocent' tone she so favored. Garrus's eyes narrowed and he cleared his throat. Tali, who had returned to fixing a plasma spot on the Mako after her answering Garrus, looked back up. "What?" she asked. "Shepard put me in charge of the Mako for a reason, Miss Zorah." he growled. Tali stood up and tried to gain eye-level with Garrus, but she was shorter, so she had to resort to tilting her head up for the desired effect. "My. Name. Is. Tali." she snapped. Garrus, glad to finally have evoked some type of real emotion from the Quarian, picked up one of her tools and began to work on the Mako. Tali looked down at him, then over to Ashley and Wrex, who had their backs turned to her and were working on the weapons once again. With a shake of her head, Tali stomped back to the engine room.

* * *

"They should get some music for this thing." Shalua Shepard said as she and Dr. Liara T'Soni entered the elevator. Liara looked at her and shrugged, a gesture Ashley had taught her when dealing with situations she didn't entirely understand. The Asari didn't care to show her ignorance for humans in front of Shepard, and as far as she could tell, the gesture worked perfectly. Of course, with Shepard being as perceptive as she was, it wasn't quite as effective. The blonde Spectre looked at her lover, who was gazing, bored looking, at the metal rails. _Asari. Leave them unentertained for three seconds and they glaze over on you_, Shepard thought to herself.The elevator reached its destination and the two women stepped out to see Garrus once again tending to the Mako, and Ashley and Wrex tending to the guns. Deciding that the former was more interesting than the latter, Shepard approached Garrus.

"How's my princess?" she asked. Garrus looked up at her and smiled, or at least the Turian equivalent of a smile. "You ride her hard, Shepard." he said gruffly. "I'm not Kaidan, Garrus. I can deal with the bumpy terrains." Shepard replied. Garrus said nothing in return. The conversation with Garrus over, Shepard walked to Ashley and Wrex. "Who got sloppy this time?" Ashley exchanged a look with Wrex, who walked away. "Ma'am, this rifle is yours." the gunnery chief said. Shepard furrowed her brow and took the rifle from Ashley, who seemed glad to leave the topic. "Garrus isn't being very talkative." she pointed out. Ashley smiled and pointed to the door of the engine room. "He and the Quarian got into a tussle about who should repair the Mako." she answered. Shepard raised an eyebrow and looked from Garrus to the engine room door. "That's not like Garrus, or Tali." she said. Ashley shrugged. "Who knows. I guess they both think they're the right ones for the job." Shepard nodded. "Dismissed, chief." she said. "Ma'am." Ashley replied. Shepard walked away and gave Wrex a glance, which was reciporacated. She returned to the elevator, where Liara was waiting. "Did you learn anything new?" the Asari asked. Shepard looked at her with a smirk. "Not really. I learned one thing: People can be really, really intense about Makos."

**It's short, I know, but I just wanted to get this out my head. I was playing the game and I kept thinking 'Why is Garrus always next to the Mako?'. It's not really a relevant question, but I dunno. I just thought this was a funny idea.**


End file.
